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What Games Made the Biggest Impact?

We take a look at just a few

By Troy Roberts
August 04, 2002

Well,you know it's one of those nights when it's 4 am and you still haven't written a Gamers' Thumb. We've all been there. You go to bed, promise to finish your deadline in the morning or the next day, and then bolt awake and remember you forgot something. That something being a Gamers' Thumb. So here I am attempting to write this at 4 am. Luckily, I was thinking of an idea earlier this week about the games that have made the biggest impact on gaming since the 8-bit Nintendo was around. So in no particular order, here are the games I believe have made the biggest impact on video gaming.

SUPER MARIO BROS. - Nintendo Entertainment System -

Don't tell me you're surprised to see this one on here. SUPER MARIO BROS. is one of the first games that I remember playing, and is one of the games that I feel made video gaming what it is today. The graphics are bad by today's standards, but when the game was released, graphics didn't matter. It had fun gameplay, and was one of those gems you'd play numerous times even after beating it.

DOOM - PC -

Yes, WOLFENSTEIN came first. But DOOM will always be the game that is known for starting the craze on first-person shooters. At the time, DOOM had excellent graphics, great control, and was just a blast to play. It was one of those games that was ahead of its time. You can clone it all you want, but DOOM is the father of first-person shooters.

Another biggie, this one credited with why arcades are still around today. Fighting games are still all the rage in arcades, and without this one leading the way, we'd have even fewer arcades than we already do. MORTAL KOMBAT was there too, but STREET FIGHTER 2 is the one that started it all.

FINAL FANTASY III (or VI depending on who you are) - Super Nintendo -

FINAL FANTASY III revived the series here in the US, and is the reason the series is still going. The game brought un-paralleled gameplay with it, a cool job system, and a great masterful storyline. FINAL FANTASY III paved the way for all of the RPGs around today.

SHENMUE - Dreamcast -

Well, this is a personal one, although most people will agree with me that this belongs here. SHENMUE boasts beautiful graphics, a gripping storyline, and the sense and feeling of Japan. The characters are likeable, and after playing for some time, you can relate to most of them. The world is huge and exploring all of it will take hours. A masterpiece of a game.

TIDBITS

There will be a DOOM III demo at this year's QuakeCon, which begins in two weeks...WARCRAFT III decided to top the sales charts again...SKIES OF ARCADIA for the Playstation 2 has been cancelled.

ON SHELVES

Not much released this week. NCAA FOOTBALL 2K3, from Sega, is released this week for the Playstation 2, and NFL FEVER 2003 for the Xbox is also being released.